on the broadcast tonight america's longest war. a new marker for all of us and an extraordinary woman -- a mother and grandmother, one of many sacrificing on the front lines. fear factor. children pulled out of school in this country while parents give up work they desperately need, all because of the sutden impact of a tough new law hitting home. new numbers on jobs. it's not getting better. now the anger and the protests are growing. the interrogation. for the first time, the jury hears michael jackson's doctor describe his version of what happened the day michael jackson died. and three women share the nobel peace prize. and three women share the nobel peace prize. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. tonight protesters remain in the streets of a dozen u.s. cities, angry over what's happened to their lives and our country and a big part of that over these last ten years, the two wars we have been fighting. starting ten years ago today. this is the anniversary of the start of the war in afghanistan. longer now than world war ii and the civil war combined. it started, of course, with the attacks on the u.s. that changed us all and listen to what president bush promised americans in uniform when he launched the war ten years ago today. >> to all the men and women in our military, every sailor, every soldier, every airman, over coast guardsman, every marine, i say this. your mission is defined. your objectives are clear. your goal is just.

you have my full confidence and you will have every tool you need to carry out your duty. >> a decade ago today. it's where we begin tonight with our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. jim, good evening. >> reporter: brian, early on, military officials thought they had won this war at least once, maybe twice. but the fact is for the first six or seven years they didn't have everything they needed to finish it off. so today, ten years later, the war drags on. less than a month after 9/11, america struck back with a vengeance. the u.s. military quickly drove the taliban from power. but when the u.s. invaded iraq, afghanistan became the forgotten war and the taliban came fighting back. carl eikenberry was a commanding general in afghanistan. >> we needed more intelligence assets in afghanistan. we need more special forces. jim, they certainly were not available. they were in iraq.

>> reporter: since taking office, president obama doubled the number of u.s. forces in afghanistan. now at 98,000. but it came at a terrible price. nearly 1,800 americans have now been killed in the ten-year war. more than 14,000 wounded at a cost of $450 billion and climbing. defense secretary leon panetta warns the fighting and sacrifice are far from over. >> this would be the wrong time to back off because we're almost there. we've got to continue on this path. >> reporter: former commanding general david barno says that means training forces to take over security while turning up the heat on the taliban. >> they are under tremendous military pressure. they will be more inclined about talking about how to end this war. >> reporter: that's a huge challenge. president obama has ordered all troops out by 2014. the first 30,000 by next summer. >> our enemies out there, the taliban, al qaeda, whatever, will wait us out. >> reporter: and recent polls

show nearly 60% of americans want u.s. forces out of afghanistan now. >> two-thirds of the american people have washed their hands of afghanistan. they don't want to spend $10 billion a month. they got 16,000 killed and wounded that want to be done with it. >> reporter: even if all the combat forces are out by 2014 u.s. officials at the pentagon predict that smaller numbers of u.s. military, advisers and trainers, could be there in afghanistan 20 years from now. brian? >> jim miklaszewski, starting us off at the pentagon tonight. jim, thanks. as we were just reminded, as it is important to remember every day there are still nearly 100,000 american service members stationed far from home in afghanistan. one is an extraordinary woman, our own jim maceda recently met a mother, a grandmother and if her sacrifice isn't enough, she's breaking new ground on her own. jim maceda tonight with more on

her story. >> reporter: from the first refuelling of the day, captain matilda howe takes charge of keeping them in the fight. >> we need to submit a request for ammo. >> reporter: loading up a steady flow of combat helicopters. captain howe, mattie, as she calls herself, is hands-on. it's not just her drive that makes mattie stand out. at 36, she's the only female commander in her supply task force. and a native american, a full-blooded navajo. her relatives still live on a reservation back in arizona. you were the first in your family to break the mold. >> yes. to break away from the reservation and also the first to actually graduate high school and graduate college. >> reporter: mattie signed up for the army 12 years ago at 24 on a bet. and she won.

>> a lot of people didn't think i could do it after having four kids and me being a single parent. >> that's faith. adrian, tyler, alex and aaron. >> reporter: today that family in colorado springs is even larger. >> when is graduation? >> on friday. >> reporter: faith, her fifth and b adopted child gave birth to romeo. mattie is a grandmother. what do you miss most? her? >> yes. i miss her. that's what i miss about her. >> i try to communicate with them a lot, but it gets to a point where it is hard. >> reporter: the latest crisis when teenage daughter alex, a high school senior told her mom she was pregnant and getting married. >> when i first heard the news i broke down. i cried my eyes out. i was sitting there like, what am i going to do? >> reporter: what she did was support her daughter just as her mother had done for her, raising mattie's kids during five

deployments. >> they have been my true foundation through my army career. >> reporter: a deep love of family, she thinks it's made her a better commander. >> i have soldiers. it feels like i have 79 children under me. everybody has a different personality like my kids all have a different personality. >> reporter: captain howe needs all the energy she can muster. managing a war here. >> love you, mom. hope you come home soon. >> reporter: and a family a world away. >> what an incredible story out of afghanistan tonight. in this country, the justice department today asked a federal appeals court to block alabama's extremely tough new immigration law which took effect last week. federal officials say the state law invites discrimination against all foreign-born residents and they are especially worried about its effect on children. our report tonight from nbc's kerry sanders. >> reporter: alabama's new immigration law is perhaps most.

in just one week they have been told teachers will not single them out but when a group of students near birmingham with hispan hispanic-sounding last names was told to assemble. >> our principal told us to come to the library. >> reporter: it was all tears. >> half of the kids were crying. >> reporter: as the kids enjoyed a birthday party this week they explained the school meeting was, in fact, to make sure they understood school officials would deport no one. >> we are already look at about a quarter of our hispanic population indicating that they will be leaving us very soon. >> reporter: alabama's farmers say while this new state law is doing as it was designed, undocumented immigrants are leaving, it's left the agriculture industry as the victims of unintended consequences. with 30 acres of tomatoes to be picked, farmer brian alexander says most of the workers are now gone. how many people were harvesting? >> we had roughly 85 to 90 workers. >> reporter: now?

>> 40 to 45. >> reporter: alexander wants to hire americans but no one want it is jobs. >> as long as people eat, go to the stores and restaurants we have to have the workers. >> reporter: in the first week of the law, farmers, contractors say while they have all lost workers they are yet to see a rush to fill those jobs. despite alabama's 9.9% unemployment rate. >> they may have to adjust the pay a little bit. alabamaians will work hard and take these jobs. >> reporter: the senator says the federal government wasn't doing its job. a law that may eventually force many of alabama's estimated 120,000 undocumented immigrants out of state. but not out of the country. kerry sanders, nbc news, steele, alabama. >> we got the employment report for september today. it was better than the experts expected. employers added 103,000 to their payrolls though that included verizon workers that went back

after a strike. unemployment rate stayed steady. 9.1%. but that's part of the battle cry of the protest movement occupy wall street which has spread far beyond new york city. our report from nbc's chris jansing. >> reporter: the demonstrations have lasted so long and expanded so widely that even with a few funny outfits, they are hard to ignore. >> occupy wall street. >> reporter: occupy wall street, a protest against economic and social inequality has spawned organized marches in 45 states. in just the last 24 hours -- protests from houston to washington, d.c. hundreds took over a los angeles intersection. 4,000 marched in portland. and in tampa, raucus demonstrators descended on the banking district. >> we are the 99%. >> reporter: the protesters, not always who you would expect.

>> i had a $100,000 a year salary job. >> reporter: buddy bolton lost his job and frustration brought him to manhattan. >> it's our arab spring. it's our opportunity to let the government know that the system is in need of repair. >> reporter: occupy wall street is drawing historical comparisons. >> the first stage of any movement is a lot of people showing how unhappy they are at the situation. civil rights movement, the anti-war movements. if it lasts long enough and is organized well, it could become a mass movement. >> reporter: money could help. supporters have dropped thousands of dollars into buckets on the street. 11 days ago, occupy wall street got tax exempt status and quickly raised at least $50,000, most of it online. >> it's compelling to see how quickly things have grown and taken off. what it means is that the burden of responsibility is now on us. >> reporter: experts say leaders need to emerge with a plan to use that cash and harness all

that energy before rage can turn to revolution. and here in new york tonight, there are hundreds of protesters. some have been here all 21 days. while there are skeptics, the organizers here say they are not going away. brian? >> chris jansing in lower manhattan on a friday night. chris, thanks. the word arrived today. three women have been awarded the nobel peace prize. today president obama praised their power, determination and their spirit. andrea mitchell has more for us tonight on who these women are and how they are changing the world. >> reporter: it was a signal meant to recognize and promote women in the struggle for freedom and equal rights. from yemen, the first arab woman to receive the prize. tawakkul karman, a leader in the fight for regime change and the symbol for the arab spring itself. 32, a mother of three and on the front lines as she learned of her prize. from liberia, long torn by civil

war, 72-year-old ellen johnson sirleaf, the first woman democratically elected woman. six years ago she defeated dictator charles taylor. she's up for re-election next week. also from liberia, leymah gbowee who led a movement against rape and violence. >> we are fighters of war. >> reporter: today they talked about why the women mobilized. >> we have gotten to the place where death was better than life. we felt as women of liberia we needed to do something to change the trend of our lives. >> reporter: today's nobel prize validates her struggle and the courage of women fighting for freedom around the world. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. >> still ahead, as we continue we'll introduce you to the next generation of women trying to change the world. we'll hear from one of them and hear who her inspiration was. first tonight we get to hear from michael jackson's doctor in

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the criminal trial of michael jackson's dr. conrad murray is kidding up. a jury heard from the doctor himself on audio tapes recorded days after jackson's death. our report tonight from nbc's jeff rossen. >> reporter: as the world was mourning the death of michael jackson, dr. conrad murray was leaving the hospital, caught on surveillance cameras. police would question him two days later and today in open

court prosecutors played the tape for the first time. >> we understand that you had been spending some nights at the house? >> not some nights. i spent every night. >> oh, every night. >> reporter: murray told investigators the day jackson died, the singer was begging for sleep medication. >> i looked at the time because i also knew that if his day is to be made productive, he also has to get up. and he said, "just make me sleep, no matter what." >> reporter: murray said jackson was nervous about missing rehearsal for his upcoming tour. >> he said, "i can't function if i don't sleep, they'll have to cancel it, and i don't want them to cancel it, but they will have to cancel it." so i agreed at that time. that i would switch over to the

propofol. >> reporter: murray maintains he gave jackson a small dose, not enough to kill him, and that jackson wanted to inject himself. >> he asked me, "why not won't you let me push it? i love to push it. it makes me feel great." >> the first time that milk was used on him, was it your idea or was it his idea? >> his. >> reporter: legal experts say playing the tape today on a friday is strategic. prosecutors are trying to use dr. conrad murray's own words against him, hoping it will stick with the jury over the long holiday weekend. jeff rossen, nbc news, los angeles. and coming up here after a break, we'll tell you what brings britain's prince harry to the united states tonight. when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight.

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way. the bears of old are a little grayer, fatter, balder and creekiecreek ie creakier, but when the president invites the '85 bears to the white house, that's a command performance. they never got their white house ceremony back then because the space shuttle challenger blew up and it was cancelled. we wanted to note two departures this week including derrick bell, the first tenured black professor at harvard. he was 80 years old. and he was one of the actors you know him instantly from his work in hundreds of roles. charles napier was one of those actors who are the working class background of hollywood. he was the angry country music band leader in "the blues brother" the prison guard eaten

in "the silence of the lambs" and the judge if "philadelphia." he was 75 years old. prince harry is in the u.s., as we indicated. this trip is all business. he's arrived in southern california where he will fly apache helicopters in the desert near the mexican border as a training exercise. his brother william is a chopper pilot in the british military as was his father, the prince of wales. when we come back here tonight, a woman who changed her life and now the rest of the world all because she was in the audience the day steve jobs delivered the speech that has now gone viral. , i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on p of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections.

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this was our favorite art work of the day this memorial image, the apple logo and steve jobs credited to artist jonathan mac. private family services were held for jobs today. here is a measure of how his fans and customers feel about the apple co-founder. the black mock turtlenecks he always wore in public are selling by the thousands at $175 a pop. one company says it's donating the proceeds to cancer research. and there's his human legacy like the story we found of a

young woman who was in the stanford graduating class that jobs spoke to in '05 and what she chose to do with her life since then. her story tonight from nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your inner voice and -- >> most important have the courage. camille remembers the moment she first heard steve jobs. she was graduating from stanford, headed down a path to the corporate world. but jobs's advice kept coming back. >> the only way to do great work is to love what you do. >> reporter: she listened to jobs and her own heart. >> i absolutely remember this. that's how i jumped off the cliff to do what i love. >> reporter: it led her to india, a small village where life exists on less than $2 a day. she took her tech background and co-founded empowering giving

kids not only cell phones, but a way to earn benefits like food and medical care for their families by checking in on a phone app when they go to school. >> we want to give them incentives. >> reporter: her goal is big enough even steve jobs might be impressed. >> we have this really grand dream that we can break the cycle of poverty, we can end poverty. that's why i'm doing this. >> reporter: almost 5,000 graduates heard steve jobs speak here this day. the words of one man spread well beyond this stadium in ways even the great visionary could never have imagined. all the way to the next generation. >> they are going to change the world. i'm not going to change the world the way they are. they are amazing. >> and now, as you graduate to begin anew, i wish that for you. stay hungry, stay foolish. >> reporter: steve jobs's legacy to the ipod, ipad, iphone, add the inspiration he provided to others. kristen dahlgren, nbc news,

palo alto, california. and that is our broadcast for this friday night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here on monday night. in the meantime, please have a good weekend. in the meantime, please have a good weekend. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com